LAS CRUCES, N.M. The solo senior from the Lone Star State shined bright Tuesday at the Pan American Center.
Roman Martinez, the only senior on the 2009-10 UNM men’s basketball team, tied his careerhigh with 24 against in-state rival, New Mexico State.
Martinez was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Martinez and his gutsy effort against the Aggies was indicative of the kind of player he is, said head coach Steve Alford. Thanks to Martinez, the Lobos pulled a 97- 87 win against the Aggies.
“I am going to enjoy every game I have got with him,” he said. “I know his elementary school brother was here today. I am going to be the first to start recruiting him, because if it’s a Martinez, I know what he is going to end up being.”
NMSU turned on the offensive button and heightened the intensity level in the second half after being down 52-36 at halftime. The Aggies went on an 18-5 run to open up the second half before guard Phillip McDonald hit a 3-pointer to push the Lobo lead to six.
On the next NMSU offensive possession, guard Jahmar Young countered McDonald’s 3-point field goal and hit a free throw to cut the Lobo lead to 62-58.
Martinez led the Lobos back down the court and answered with a 3-pointer of his own. The 3-point ball maintained the lead and put the Lobos up by seven.
To earn the win in a rivalry game, especially after giving up a big lead, Martinez told his young team during a time out to weather the storm, he said.
“Coach doesn’t get mad at missed shots,” Martinez said. “A lot of the young guys, like Darrington Hobson, they were trying to score but we just couldn’t get anything going. Coach (Craig) Neal called a couple of plays for me and the ball fell for me today.”
In 33 minutes, Martinez finished his final game at NMSU going 8-of- 15 from the field.
“They’re a team that can score in bunches and they did in the second half,” Martinez said. “We kind of had some mishaps on the defensive end. It was important for us to hit some big shots. That’s what Daniel (Faris) would do for us last year, so I knew that I had to hit a couple of big shots.”
Martinez, an El Paso, Texas native, knows all about the UNM-New Mexico State rivalry. Martinez said he didn’t mind constantly being razzed by the Aggie faithful and that it didn’t get into his head.
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“I enjoy the fans getting into it,” Martinez said. “I think that it’s all a part of the game. You know, (the fans) are going to get on you but it’s good for basketball.”
